Saratoga resident in unique position as U.S. cricket team vies for World Cup spot

It did just that when he moved to Saratoga about four years ago. Although a lifelong cricket player — who as a youth had hopes of going pro in his home country of England — Khan had no intention of sticking with the sport when he made a new life in the Bay Area.

But he came across a posting on the Internet from the California Cricket Academy in Cupertino asking for volunteer umpires for its youth program. Khan said he'd be willing to help out. But what was supposed to be a one-shot deal turned into a yearlong coaching gig.

Khan would lead the boys cricket team to the finals tournament, which they won — something the team had never been able to accomplish before.

That success invariably led to Khan being asked to coach the men's regional team, which reached the finals.

It seemed that everything the Saratogan touched turned to gold.

And someone at the U.S.A. Cricket Association was watching. The association named Khan the senior manager of the United States cricket team in 2008.

Last year, the U.S. men's team won the International Cricket Council America's Cup, beating all of the five teams it faced. That win allowed the team a chance to qualify with a wild card spot. Now the team will head to Dubai in February to attempt to qualify for the World Cup.

The significance of the moment isn't lost on Khan.

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"It's a huge, huge, huge thing. I can't emphasize it enough or put enough adjectives or superlatives because outside of the U.S., all the major countries play cricket. It's a culture thing," he said. "The growth of the game in this country, the media interest it could spark, the sponsorship it could bring. It would create an image for the U.S. without the average person in the U.S. even knowing.

"Maybe those in the U.S. don't care or don't know about it. But for the team to make it to the World Cup is huge because we know what the world is expecting and how they view us. It will give us some form of credibility."

One of the biggest games will come on Feb. 11 when the U.S. and Afghanistan teams face off in Dubai. Khan said he's heard the game is already sold out.

"The entire world will be watching with interest," he said. "They will actually care about the result." The last time the U.S. men's cricket team qualified for the World Cup was in 2004 when Sports Illustrated labeled the team "a ragtag bunch of weekend players."

That team was a 1,000-to-1 underdog and would later be banned from competing for five years by the ICC for what Khan labels "in-fighting and irregularities."

But with the ban now lifted, the team has a shot at showing what it can do against stiff competition.

Most of the team's players are originally from other countries, such as India, Pakistan and the Caribbean, and all are scattered around the country, with many living on the East Coast. So practicing together is out of the question.

"Since last year we've barely practiced together as a team, let alone play a match. Every single one of our opponents has been playing in tournaments nonstop for the last 12 months," he said.

Although the team will be going into the tournament "cold and unprepared," Khan believes that if the players hit their stride at once, there is no other team that can compete with their natural talent.

But Khan also knows the team needs leadership, which is where he will receive help from the U.S. team's coach, Clayton Lambert.

Leadership is also something that Khan has proven to possess in his personal life and with his recent successes with the local cricket teams.

Khan has worked in public relations and has started up his own consulting company, Suddahazai Institute, which coaches and educates business professionals on leadership skills.

But beyond what he has given to the game, Khan also realizes what the game has given to him.

"From a very personal standpoint, it means I get to be involved at a level that I always thought I'd be as a player," he said. "I always dreamed of playing in the World Cup, but I never made it. So this is a God-given opportunity to experience what I've always dreamed of."